'Redskins' name perpetuates debate

It is time the National Football League faced reality: The continued use of the word “redskins” is unacceptable. It is a racist, derogatory term that is patently offensive to Native Americans. The Native American community has spent the past two decades trying earnestly to fight the racism that this slur perpetuates, with little success. It’s 2013: Is outright racism still OK in America?

Let’s review the history. The origin of the term is commonly attributed to the colonial practice of trading Native American scalps and body parts as bounties and trophies. In 1755, settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Province were paid out of the public treasury for killing and scalping people of the Penobscot tribe. The bounty for a male Penobscot above the age of 12 was 50 pounds, and his scalp was worth 40 pounds. The bounty for a female Penobscot of any age and for males under the age of 12 was 25 pounds, and their scalps were worth 20 pounds. These scalps were called redskins.

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The current chairman and chief of the Penobscot Nation, Chief Kirk Francis, recently declared that the term is “not just a racial slur or a derogatory term” but a painful “reminder of one of the most gruesome acts of … ethnic cleansing ever committed against the Penobscot people.”

Suzan Harjo, president of the Morning Star Institute — a national Native American rights organization — and a member of the Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee tribes, summed it up best: “[Redskins] is the worst thing in the English language you can be called if you are a native person.”

I and nine members of Congress recently explained this painful history in a letter to Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington football franchise. Similar letters were sent to Frederick Smith, president and CEO of FedEx (a key sponsor for the franchise), and to Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League.

As of today, Snyder has yet to respond. Smith ignored our letter as well, opting instead to have a staff member cite contractual obligations as FedEx’s reason for its silence on the subject.

Goodell did respond. In a dismissive manner, however, he declared that the team’s name “is a unifying force that stands for strength, courage, pride and respect.” In other words, the NFL is telling everyone — Native Americans included — that they cannot be offended because the NFL means no offense. The logic is absurd on its face.

Recently, Snyder defiantly stated to the press, “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.” Snyder’s statement is totally inconsistent with the NFL’s diversity policy, which is supposed to promote “a culturally progressive and socially reflective organization that represents, supports and celebrates diversity at all levels.”

If Snyder and the NFL are unwilling to act, Congress should. In an attempt to correct the long-standing usage of the term redskins, the bill H.R. 1278 titled “The Non-Disparagement of Native American Persons or Peoples in Trademark Registration Act of 2013” was introduced in March. This bill would cancel the federal registrations of trademarks using the word redskins in reference to Native Americans. Governing federal law established in 1946 requires that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office deny registration for words that “disparage … persons” — living or dead — “or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.” A racial epithet that insults an entire people surely qualifies.

Accordingly, the PTO has rejected applications submitted by the Washington franchise to trademark the term — three times in 1996 and once in 2002. The PTO determined that the term is a racial slur that disparages Native Americans. And yet, despite this determination, Snyder’s franchise enjoys six federally registered trademarks for the same word, which were previously granted by the PTO between 1967 and 1990.

H.R. 1278 is supported by a number of major Native American organizations, including the National Congress of American Indians — the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving tribal governments and communities. Jefferson Keel, a member of the Chickasaw Nation and president of NCAI, stated that our efforts as members of Congress will hopefully accomplish “what Native American people, nations and organizations have tried to do in the courts for almost 20 years — end the racist epithet that has served as the [name] of Washington’s pro football franchise for far too long.”

Despite the Native American community’s best efforts before administrative agencies and the courts, the term redskins remains a federally registered trademark. Since the PTO refuses to rectify its mistake, it is now up to Congress to step in.

We can’t force Snyder to change his team’s name. We can’t compel the NFL to act. But there’s no reason the federal government — which represents all Americans — has to give racism its tacit endorsement.

Delegate Eni Faleomavaega represents American Samoa in the U.S. Congress as a nonvoting member.